Ethical Leadership Toolkit - National Center for Ethics in Health ...

Ethical Leadership Toolkit – Introduction to IntegratedEthics
the IntegratedEthics Council, functioning in the role of an executive director,
administrative officer, or co-chair. The program officer should be a skilled manager
and a well-respected member of the staff.
The membership of the council also includes the Ethics Consultation Coordinator
and the Preventive Ethics Coordinator, who lead the ethics consultation service
and preventive ethics teams, respectively. Each role requires specific knowledge and
skills.
Finally, the council includes leaders and senior staff from programs and offices that
encounter ethical concerns, for example:
• Chief of Staff
• Chief Fiscal Officer
• Associate Chief of Staff for Research
• Associate Chief of Staff for
Education
• Patient Safety Officer
• Director, Quality Management
• Director, Human Resources
• Compliance & Business
Integrity Officer
• Research Compliance Officer
• Information Security Officer
• Privacy Officer
• Nurse Manager
In addition to overseeing the ethics consultation service and the preventive ethics
team, the IntegratedEthics Council may also oversee standing subcommittees
(e.g., policy, education, and JCAHO ethics readiness), as well as one or more ad hoc
workgroups convened to address specific topics identified by the council.
At the network level, IntegratedEthics is coordinated by the IntegratedEthics Point
of Contact, who reports directly to the network director or the VISN Executive
Leadership Council. In addition to serving as the primary point of contact with the
National Center for Ethics in Health Care, this individual facilitates communication
across facility IntegratedEthics programs and monitors their progress in implementing
IntegratedEthics. Finally, a VISN-level IntegratedEthics Board helps to address
ethical issues on a network level, especially those that cut across facility boundaries.
IntegratedEthics Program Tools
IntegratedEthics emphasizes distance learning and combines the use of print,
video, and electronic media to provide a wide array of resources. These include
reference materials and video courses relating to each of the three functions;
operational manuals (toolkits) and administrative tools to help program staff organize
and document their activities; assessment tools for evaluating program quality and
effectiveness; communications materials about IntegratedEthics; and online learning
modules to build staff knowledge of ethics topics.
A New Paradigm for Ethics in Health Care
IntegratedEthics builds on VA’s reputation for quality and innovation in health care.
Like VA’s seminal work in performance management, its groundbreaking program
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